(Message rqd:84) Return-Path:Received: from Holland.Sun.COM (sunnl) by homeland.Holland.Sun.COM (4.1/SMI-4.1) id AA04216; Tue, 25 May 93 17:16:24 +0200 Received: from glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM by Holland.Sun.COM (4.1/SMI-4.1e) id AA03087; Tue, 25 May 93 17:16:18 +0200 Received: by glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (4.1/SMI-4.1) id AA17905; Tue, 25 May 93 17:15:20 +0200 Date: Tue, 25 May 93 17:15:20 +0200 Message-Id: <9305251515.AA17905@glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM> From: RuneQuest-Request@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RQ Digest Maintainer) To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (Daily automated RQ-Digest) Reply-To: RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (RuneQuest Daily) Subject: RuneQuest Daily, Tue, 25 May 1993, part 1 Precedence: junk Status: OR The RuneQuest Daily and RuneQuest Digest deal with the subjects of Avalon Hill's RPG and Greg Stafford's world of Glorantha. Send submissions and followup to "RuneQuest@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM", they will automatically be included in a next issue. Try to change the Subject: line from the default Re: RuneQuest Daily... on replying. Selected articles may also appear in a regular Digest. If you want to submit articles to the Digest only, contact the editor at RuneQuest-Digest-Editor@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM. Send enquiries and Subscription Requests to the editor: RuneQuest-Request@Glorantha.Holland.Sun.COM (Henk Langeveld) --------------------- From: staats@MIT.EDU (Richard C. Staats) Subject: CacoDaemon Message-ID: <9305241530.AA14812@MIT.EDU> Date: 24 May 93 01:30:32 GMT X-RQ-ID: 862 Has there been a recent re-release of this cult? Does anyone know if Vivamort is going to be re-released any time soon? In service, Rich --------------------- From: hebert@uclink.berkeley.edu (Brian Hebert) Subject: Troll Item Message-ID: <29254.hebert@uclink.Berkeley.EDU> Date: 24 May 93 15:07:33 GMT X-RQ-ID: 863 Here's a magic item I came up with for a scenario which has humans working in close cooperation with Trolls: Darkfriend Medallion (aka "Hall Pass") -------------------- Description A lead medallion featuring the Darkness and Man runes, hung on a heavy lead chain. Cults Associated Kyger Litor, Argan Argar Hostile Light Cults, Aldrya, Mostal Knowledge Cult Secret, Common, Few History This variation on standard Lead Enchantment was first developed during the Second Council as a means of providing safe passage to Trollfriends as they travelled through Uzdom. Since the withdrawl of the Trolls from that Council and Gbaji's curse, Trolls have become much more conservative about handing them out. Procedure A Lead Medallion is enchanted using the standard Lead Enchantment Rune Spell with a minor variation in the ritual. This variation creates a temporary instability in the lead which passes with time. This instability lasts seven days. Its duration can be extended by expending magic points at the time of enchantment (each mp extending the effect an extra seven days). Powers These medallions are given to non-Trolls who are working toward _important_ Troll goals. This is to identify them as Trollfriends and provide safe passage through Troll controlled lands. While within a Troll's normal Darksense range, this medallion gives off a distinctive "ping" which is easily recognizable. According to convention, Trolls agree to allow the bearer of such a medallion to pass through their lands unmolested. In practice, most Trolls will go out of their way to investigate and the bearer had better have a very solid explanation for how they came to possess the medallion. Traditional troll foes should have extremely compelling arguments prepared. These medallions should not be used by anyone trying to sneak through troll lands as they stand out like a signal flare. These medallions work just as well under clothing or armor and it makes sense to keep them there since Elves, Dwarves and Yelmic types have been known to react hostilely to anyone discovered with one. Value It depends. Once the instability wears off it's just an enchanted lead medallion. While the instability is active, unscrupulous folk might consider trying to find a buyer who could put it to use. Get a good price because if word gets back you will be _very_ unpopular in Uzdom. Keep in mind that there is no way for non-Trolls to tell if the instability exists or not and bogus medallions have been sold before. === Note: It occurs to me that since Darksense reveals the type of metals based on their vibration that it might be common for Trolls to flag hidden caches or landmarks with small scraps of a distinctive metal (tin perhaps). This would be a sort of beacon largely undetectable to non-Trolls. === Trollpak question There is a brief section in Trollpak describing the Shadows Dance area including the Torch and Redwood Forest. Where can I learn more about this region? Elder Secrets? I'm particularly interested in the Torch. Thanks in advance. Brian Hebert --------------------- From: staats@MIT.EDU (Richard C. Staats) Subject: Re: RuneQuest Daily, Mon, 24 May 1993, part 1 Message-ID: <9305241549.AA15471@MIT.EDU> Date: 24 May 93 01:48:59 GMT X-RQ-ID: 864 Greetings! I am a little foggy on the location of the Invisible God during godtime. The Mostali worshipped the Invisible God then too? I just wanted to put in a pre-amble before I tread on any toes. :-) I always thought of the Invisible God as kind of a Great Compromise creation, and in my campaigns, I treat sorcery as a type of magic that only came into Glorantha as a result of the Great Compromise. This flows along nicely with some of the more recent articles on the use of Runic magic. I treat the Invisible God as the god of Time. The Invisible God was created when each of the Runic primaries gave a bit of their power to create Time. Sorcerers have access to ALL the runes, because the Invisible God was created from small bits of each Rune. From a game balance standpoint, the sorcerer is less powerful in a particular Runic application than say a Runepriest of that Runic aspect. For example, a sorcerer would not be able to raise a character from the dead, but the sorcerer could create an artificial limb or the like. (On the other hand, the ability to freely draw on several Runic aspects can be a useful thing in and of itself. When a party is suddenly confronted by a lightwall, the last thing they would normally expect to follow is a shade.) I see the sorcerer's place as kind of a "balancing force"; taken as a whole, mages tend to favor the balance of the Runic influences that existed at the Dawning. Afterall, it was this balance of forces that was able to fend Chaos off. I will send a more detailed description if folks are interested. In service, Rich --------------------- From: paul@phyast.pitt.edu Subject: Re: Acolytes Message-ID: <9305241607.AA04350@bondi.phyast.pitt.edu> Date: 24 May 93 16:07:05 GMT X-RQ-ID: 865 Paul R. here. I was going over Nick's suggestions for Acolytes in the May 17 RQ Daily and discovered (buried among many ideas that I agree with) the following statement: > You can't take a break while retaining > the magical (and social) benefits, though you'll get them back when you > pick up your tasks again. And *nobody* who wants to keep their family and > friends can give up 100% of their time to God... While this may be true for warrior cults such as Humakt, I see Acolytes of Ernalda, Pelora, Lodril, etc. as loacally-respected villagers who take a trip down to the big (i.e. minor) temple in the far - away town (perhaps even 20 Kilometers) once a season and then bring back magical benefits and spiritual guidance for their village. Otherwise they may be very similar to the other peasants. Or is Nick counting time spent Farming as time given to this sort of God? Around here we've required full priests to have at least Worship, Sanctify, and Divination, but acolytes need not have these spells. I think Initiation also makes a good Rune Magic. We have allowed people to self-Initiate if there is no organized cult in their area. This requires fervent prayer belief, and "cultic" behavior. Candidates for self-Initiation need to make a POW x 1 roll to succeed and it costs them two points of Power rather than 1. We made up these rules for a community which had been isolated by the Syndic's Ban. Instead of the Test of Holiness, perhaps the GM can keep track of "cult virtues" for the character. This would be easier in a Pendragon-style system. Is there now a debating board for RQ IV? - Paul _____________________________________ --------------------- From: DO9EA00@sysa.computing-services.manchester-metropolitan-university.ac.uk Subject: multi-missile & fumble ? Message-ID: <9305241634.AA26945@Sun.COM> Date: 24 May 93 13:27:00 GMT X-RQ-ID: 866 Question ? We all know that a multi-missile can only score a critical with the first (real) missile but what about fumbles ? [D ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- David Ingram - "Its an ill wind that spoils the broth" --------------------- From: wroberts@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (William C Robertson) Subject: Varieties of Healing magic. Message-ID: Date: 24 May 93 12:05:54 GMT X-RQ-ID: 868 Paul Reilly wrote... > I started top write a rather long post on Deezola, but decided instead >to give a very short answer. If there is a demand I will post more but >otherwise I will wait until I have a cult writeup in hand. That's fine, you read me correctly. Your concept seems interested. Although I always imagined an emphatic (?) Healing approach far far away from civilization. It just seems too dangerous an alternative. But I like it! I like it! -Bill --------------------- From: burt@ptltd.com (Burton Choinski) Subject: Comments on stuff Message-ID: <9305242036.AA12219@vino> Date: 24 May 93 20:36:38 GMT X-RQ-ID: 869 John J Medway notes: (on my diced SR suggestion) <<>> DEX+SIZ Strike Die SRA <<>> 1-13 d12 >6.0 <<>> 14-24 d10 >4.5 <<>> 25-34 d8 >3.0 <<>> 35-39 d6 >1.5 <<>> 40+ d4 < Date: 25 May 93 02:58:31 GMT X-RQ-ID: 870 Alistair- It's important to make the distiction between Chaos Scum and Deluded Chaos Scum Appeasers. The Lunars are the latter while Walktapi are the former. In games I've played (and GM'd) the Lunars are usually very nice, well behaved bores who simply believe they have found the better way to conduct their lives. This attitude may be pronounced like 'born again' Seven Mother's Missionaries, or subtly displayed as prejudice against the ways of the 'common folk'. Either way, most Lunars wouldn't trigger an Orlanthi's hatred for all this of Chaos. Making Orlanthi hate Lunars is not always easy. Sure they're SUPPOSE to hate them, but that's more for what the EMPIRE did to the Orlanthi, not what the individual Lunar citizen does. I hope this helps. --------------------- From: MAB@SAVAX750.RUTHERFORD.AC.UK (Mystic Musk Ox) Subject: RE: RuneQuest Daily, Mon, 24 May 1993, part 1 Message-ID: <9305250822.AA29903@Sun.COM> Date: 25 May 93 08:22:00 GMT X-RQ-ID: 871 Does anyone know of/have a write up of the cult of Gark the Calm? Its always really appealed to me... mark. --------------------- From: P.A.Snow@gdr.bath.ac.uk (P A Snow) Subject: POW gains Message-ID: <9305251257.AA23458@Sun.COM> Date: 25 May 93 12:57:11 GMT X-RQ-ID: 872 In response to Paul Reilly (X-RQ-ID:858), I think that it is an excellent idea to search for a mechanism that "resonates with myths and folktales" to use for POW gains. It is too easy to get so involved with habits and traditions in the game that any connection to ideas that might be recognised by a games layperson can become lost. So what sort of thing is a POW gain? I suggest that it represents one of the following. a) The character becomes more blessed or loved by his god and so has a stronger ability to influnce the world. b) The character becomes more in touch with the essential reality of being alive. More in touch with the Cosmos. This tuning into nature allows a greater ability to contact/use spirit magic c) The character, independent of outside influences such as suggested by a) and b), has become more confident in his/her abilities and thus can more easily perform certain actions. Do any of these sound right? I think that the ideal response here should follow a pattern something along the lines of :- The Hero has become more < insert quality/ trait/ adjective>. This means that < spiritual/psychological explanation> is true. (This last <> should be either glorantha lore of folklore based.) This is represented in game mechanics by . This will be represented by a game mechanism <....XXX...>. The vital thing is to get the feel and meaning of POW gain set and then look for the mechanism. I hope this helps. Paul "What is POW anyway." Snow --------------------- From: DO9EA00@sysa.computing-services.manchester-metropolitan-university.ac.uk Subject: The Cult of Vianeth Message-ID: <9305251306.AA24330@Sun.COM> Date: 25 May 93 11:39:27 GMT X-RQ-ID: 873 Here is a small cult, to revolte you all. Comments welcomed ? VIANETH (FERTILITY, PLANT & DEATH) 1. Mythos and History Little is known about the origins of Vianeth, though some believe that he is the bastard son of either Aldrya or Ernalda; of his early life, training and motivations only a few scraps of knowledge exist and the authenticity of this information is doubted even by some of his most ardent followers. Only one fact is known for sure :- Vianeth was present when the Grandfather Mortal (Fleshman) was saline by the power of death and while the other witnesses fled in horror from the site Vianeth felt himself drawn towards the pool of blood oozing from the corpse. Kneeling down he touched the gore with his fingers and drew upon his face and body with the blood. Shocked and awed by what he had seen he waited in silence and then saw that where the blood soaked into the ground new life in the forms of plants sprung forth. Vianeth was seized by the idea of new life coming forth from death and sought out the power that was death. By guile and stealth he tracked Humakt and hid amongst the under growth and bushes and watched Humakt practicing with the sword. Later as the exauhsted Humakt slept he creeps forward and touched the blade of the sword. Sizing it up we went away and copied it using his skills to work wood. Finding the wooden sword would not cut, like the sword of death, he enchanted the blade to make it sharp and strong and then taking the ritual knife he slew several animals, letting their blood soak into the soil bringing forth fertile crops. He was dissapointed with the effects and found that the best effect was obtained when sentient creatures were slain. 2. Cult Sociology and Ecology. Vianeth has no place in civilised society, his preists work in secret groves and gardens in woodlands. These temples are maintained by the ritual sacrifice of animals and by the blood letting of the faithful, who on holy days of the cult ritually incise their chests and arms letting the blood flow into the soil. In times of famine and desperation amongst farmers and common people, These secret temples of Vianeth are sought out the preists are summoned to help. Then on the high holy day of the cult, the priest bring forth their ritual knives and human sacrifices are made, normally one "willing" volunteer but sometimes mass carnage is the unhappy result. 3. Lay Membership To all intents and purposes Vianeth has no Lay membership, excepting that any person presenent at a Blood Letting who participates in the worship of Vianeth is a lay member. 4. Initiates (The Blooded) Initiates must, upon the high holy day of Vianeth, take up a sanctified wooden knife and cut them selves about the chest and arms. They must tithe 10% of their wealth to the cult, normally in the form of sacrificial animals. They may plant and tend shrines to Vianeth and learn how to work wood to make knives. They are sworn to absolute secrecy concerning the location to the temples and shrines and form the public face of the cult. Although their membership of the cult is normally secret, it is through initiates that common people contact the cult in times of need. Initiates are taught to craft sacrificial knives, make sacrifices (a version of the peacfull cut), and the fertility rituals of the cult. shrines teach woodsharp. 5. Rune Lords -- Vianeth has no rune lords. 6. Rune Preists. Initiates of good standing who have remained within the cult for at least five years may attain the priest hood. In order to do so they must be able to make a set of sacrificial knives (at 90%) and know the skills of sacrificial cut and the scrifical ritual (at 90%). On the high holy day of the cult they must find a human sacrificial victim and under the tutelage of an existing priest conduct the rite of fertility. Following this they must withdraw from society and attend unto the business of the cult 90% of the time. In return they obtain the succor provided by any initiates and may eat the flesh of sacrificial animals only. 7. Spells Rite of Fertility (Fleshman) 3pt Ritual, 1 Seasons Duration, Stackable, Range 50 Hectares. (1 Use) This is the spell which calls upon Vianeth to interceed and to use the blood of a human sacrificial victim to enrich poor and impoverished soil. The ritual last for one full day culminating in the sacrifice of the victim and blood letting into the soil. In return the soil becomes more fertile for one season. Rite of Fertility (Beast) 1pt Ritual, 1 Week Duration, Stackable, range 1^2 m per point of size. As above, but requires a sacrificial animal. Enchant ritual knife. 1pt Ritual, Permanent, Non-Stakable, range touch. This spell takes a crafted wooden sacrificial knife and allows it to take an edge. Woodsharp -var. This spirit spell works like bladesharp, but upon the wooden knives and swords used by the cult. 8. Skills Craft Sacrificial Knives -- Craft skill allowing wood to be carved to make wooden knives and sword. Sacrificial Cut -- cuts the throat of a victim in such a way that the sacrificed animal/person dies peacefully and in a manner causing as much blood as possible to be let. NB: Conceal, stealth and back-woods skills are considered important by the cult. (c) David Ingram 1993.